Sanitary towel-service vending machine



Dec. 31, 1929.

T. J. JONES SANITARY TOWEL SERVICE VENDING MACHINE Origifial Filed June 1, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec 31, 1929. T. J. JONES SANITARY TOWEL SERVICE VENDING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 1, 1926 Dec. 31, 1929. r. J. JONES 2 SANITARY TOWEL SERVICE VENDING MACHINE .Original Filed June 1, 1926 3 Sheets-Shefh 5 II- n I a w I "n A A 2;

"a 26 J 84c Patented Dec, 31, 1929 UNITED STATES TIMMIE J. JONES, OF MOORHEAD, MISSISSIPPI SANITARY TOWEL-SERVICE VENDING MACHINE Application filed June 1, 1926, Serial No. 112,955. Renewed July 6, 1929.-

My invention relates to vending machines and has particular reference to the dispensing of towel service in public places. It has for its object to produce a machine which upon deposit of a coin will release a single'towel and permit the same to be drawn into position for convenient use, and which will therefor guide the towel automatically into a receptacle havingia capacity equal to the loading capacity of the machine, wherein the soiled towels are concealed but maintained in locked connection with the machine until unlocked by an authorized person.

I attain my objects by providing a vertical chambered cabinet, preferably divided into two vertical'loading' or magazine channels, adapted to be filled or loaded from the top and emptied from the bottom. The towels the use of whichis to be vended, are

individually rolled and strapped, and piled up vertically in the magazine channels, eachtowel having upon its inner end a perforated tag, and passing through all these tags from top to bottom of the. machine are a pair of 5 guiding wires which drop down vertically from the top of the cabinet to the point of use, rise again and emerge from the cabinet in front thereof, then turn and drop down into the chambered receptacle at the bottom of the cabinet.

On one side of the cabinet I provide an opening leading into the coin chamber and on the front a pull rod coin control, which communicates through a vertical ,pitman with a 3 feed roller extending from side to side of the cabinet beneath the vertical piles of rolled towels. This feed roller has teeth set at intervals around its periphery, in two double rows, said rows beingstaggered, so that as the roller isrotated by the pull rod, a towel from one side will be fed-forward, and; then one from the other side, in alternation.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings: in which Fig. 1 is a face View of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 .of Fig. 2. i

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. .6 is a detail view of the feed roller and pitman operating the ratchet for feeding out the towels.

F 7 is a face view of a towel unrolled, showing the perforated tag secured to one corner thereo Fig. 8 is a similar View of one towel rolled up and handed.

the cabinet is provided with a glass window 8 through which the state of the magazine, whether full or empty, and its operation may be observed. The body of the cabinet 1 is divided into two vertical chambers 1* and 1 with vertical strips 25, 26 and 27, and parallel strips 28, 29, and 30, forming guides for'the clean towels 9 which are rolled u as shown in Fig. 8, to form individual units, secured by bands 92 and each provided with aperforated tag or runner 91, of suitable mar- I terial such as metal to slide on the retaining wire 7. These towel units are fed into the top of the cabinet, by opening the door 2, and their tags are engaged, one'by one, with the wires 7 by lifting the upper bracket arms, 31, pivoted at 32 on the back of the case, and normally secured to the upper ends of the wires by set, screws 33 (see Figs. 3. and 4).

At the lower end of the stacks of towel units a transverse feed roller 34 is journalled in opposite sides of the cabinet at 37, and in front of it a receiving tray 35 is supported across the cabinet. Above the roller and traythe front. panel of the cabinet is terminated to leave a horizontal opening 36 through which the towels are'fed out onto the tray one by one. To permit this, 'theguide wires 7 are bent forward at this point and then upward into a vertical loop 70 extending up in: front of the cabinet, and then down again into the chamber 4 which receives the towels when used and soiled, and from which they may be removed by loosening the securing screws or equivalent devices 72 and detaching the ends of wires? from their lower anchorage 71. (See Figs. 3 and 4.)

The feed roller 34 carries two sets of feed pins 34 and 34 each set comprising pairs of pins, the opposite pairs being staggered with respect to each other, so that as the roller is turned, a towel unit will first be fed out from one side or stack and thenfrom the other, in alternation. To turn the fed roller, I provide the mechanism shown in Figs. 3, 4, G and 9. In Figs. 3 and 4 a lever 13 is shown projecting from the front of. the machine, having a long pitman rod 13 acting as a pawl on the ratchet wheel 34, and working vertically to turn the feed roller 34 whenthe handle lever 13 is pulled down. The ratchet wheel is normally held against turning by detent pawl 34. The lever is normally locked by the pivoted cam lever 14, pivoted at 15 (see Fig. 9) engaging beneath a stud,14 on the lever 13, where it is held by a light spring 16. Atthe lower end of the cam lever is a coin detent 21 secured adjustably by screw 22, and extending normally into the coin chute 23, which has a receiving opening 12 in the front plate 11. (See Figs. 1 and 9). The lever 13 when released by the cam member 14 must be moved down to the end of its stroke, by reason of a trailing pawl 18 pivoted at 19 and normally held straight with the axis of the lever 13 by spring 20, which in its travel in either direction engages and passes over a ratchet 17 over which it trails until the stroke is completed, and then reverses. The trailing ofthis pawl is accomplished as follows: Normally the spring 20 keeps it straight as shown in Fig. 9 but when the lever 13 is pulled down the point of the pawl strikes the upper tooth on the ratchet 17, and the pawl turns in an upward direction trailing idly over the teeth since the lever 13 is moving downwardly. If the pressure on the lever be released however since the pawl 18 is then pointing upwardly against the teeth 17, it would prevent retraction of the lever, and nothing would happen until the lever'was moved the rest of the way downward; When so moved to the limit of its downward travel, the spring 20 snaps the pawl 18 straight again, and when the lever 13 moves upward, the point of the pawl will strike the bottom tooth of the ratchet 17 and be deflected downwardly, so that as the lever moves up, the pawl would tend to push down on any tooth below thelever, if an attempt be made to pull it down again before it has reached the full limit of its upward travel. This prevents misuse of the machine.

In use, when a towel is wanted, a coin is deposited in the opening 12, (Figs. 1 and 9) which falls through the chute 23 and rests 5 upon the wire holder 21. The weight of the coin tilts the cam lever 14 on 'its'p'ivot 15 so that the blocking portion 14 of its cam surface is removed from beneath the stud 14, and the cam surface 14 brought into position beneath the stud. The user then pulls down the handle 13, and'stud 14 engages the'cam 14, and moves the lever back into dottedline position, thereby moving the wire holder 21 back and releasing the coin, which drops into a box at 3 (Fig. 1). The trailing pawl 18 meantime engages ratchet 17 and prevents retraction of the lever, and the pitman 13 turns the ratchet wheel 34 (Figs. 3, 4 and 6) and turns the feed roller through an angular distance sufficient to feed one towel forward through opening 26 onto the tray 35.

The handle is then released and may be retracted by a suitable spring, not shown, to its upper position. In so retracting the pawl 18 engages ratchet 17 in a reverse direction and prevents a partial stroke.

When the user has finished with the towel, whose securing tag is running on the loop 70, he may drop it, whereupon it passes into the receptacle 4 to be removed in due course as hereinbefore set forth. i

In using the towels, the bands 92 are de- I stroyed or removed. These may be of paper or similar material, and the rolled units prepared in the laundry.

I claim:

1. Atowelservicevendingmachine comprisinga cabinet, containing a vertical magazine for towel units, said units being rolled and stacked in a vertical column each being provided with a laterally projecting perforated guide tag, a guide wire extending from top to bottom and exposed at the front of the machine and passing through the tags of all the towels so that they may travel thereon, a receptacle for the towels when used, and a feed mechanism between the magazine and said receptacle normally maintaining the column of towels intact but adapted when operated to feed one bottom towel unit at a time into position at the front of the stack for use and subsequent dropping along said guide wire.

2. A towel service vending-machine comprising a cabinet containing a vertical maga- I gravity.

3. A. towel service vending machine comprising a cabinet containing a vertical divided magazine for towel units with a vertical stack of clean rolled towel units, each provided with a laterally projecting guide tag, in each side of the magazine, a guide wire extending vertically from top to bottom of the machineand passing through said tags with a portion bent out to the front of tnc machine, a receptacle for used towels directly beneath the double magazine, and a feed mechanism common to the two stacks and operating in alternation to feed a towel for-- wardly onto said bent out portion of the guide wire first from one end then from the other as the machine is operated.

l. A towel service vending machine comprising a cabinet containing a vertical divided magazine for towel units with a vertical stack of clean rolled towel units, each provided with a laterally projecting guide tag in each side of the magazine, a guide wire extending vertically from top to bottom of the machine and passing through said tags, a receptacle for used towels directly beneath the double magazine, and a feed mechanism common to the two stacks and operating in alternation to feed a towel forward to the front of the machine first from one and then from the other as the machine is operated, together with a common coin control operating means for said feed magazine.

5. A towel service vending machine comprising a cabinet containing a vertical divided magazine for towel units with a vertical stack of clean rolled towel units, each provided with a laterally projecting guide tag, in'each side of the magazine, a pair of parallel guide wires extending from top to bottom of the'machine and passing through said tags, a receptacle for used towels directly beneath the double magazine, and a feed mechanism common to the two'stacks and operating in alternation to feed a towel forwardly to the front of the machine first from one end then from the other as the machine is operated, said feed mechanism comprising a roller extending across the foot of both stacks, projecting teeth on said roller at opposite ends corresponding to the two stacks, said teeth being staggered, and actuating means for said roller common to both stacks.

(3. A towel service vending machine comprising a cabinet, containing a magazine for towel units, said units being rolled and each provided with a laterally projecting guide tag, a guide wire extending from top to bottom of the machine upon which said tags travel, a receptacle for the towels when used, and a feed mechanism between the magazine and said receptacle adapted when operated to feed one towel unit at a time into position for use along said guide wire, together with means operated by the actuating mechanism to block partial operation of the feed mechanism and prevent repeating of its feed movement until one feed operation has been completed.

7. A towel service vending machine comprising a cabinet, two vertical magazine chambers in the upper part of said cabinet, towel units stacked in a vertical pile in each chamber, a common. feed roller extending across the foot of both chambers, said feed roller normally supporting both columns of towels and carrying feed studs or pins in two sets, staggered with respect to each other, to engage and feed out the lowermost towel units in the two stacks alternately, and controlling mcans for said feed roller adapted to turn the same a sufiicient distance to feed out one towel from one stack only at each operation.

8. A towel servicevending machine comprising a cabinet containing a magazine for towel units, said units being rolled and each provided with a laterally projecting guide tag, a receptacle for used towels in the cabinet beneath said magazine, a feed mechanism between the magazine and said receptacle adapted when operated'to feed one towel unit at a time forwardly to the front of the ma.- chine for use, and a guide wire extending from top to bottom of the cabinet'along the front of the magazine passing through said towel tags and having a loop projecting through the front of the machine with its lower end passing down into the used towel receptacle.

,9. A towel service-vending machine comprising a cabinet containing a magazine for towel units, said units being rolled and each provided with a laterally projecting guide tag, a receptacle for used towels in the cabinet beneath said magazine, a feed mechanism between the magazine and said receptacle adapted when operated to feed one towel unit at a time forwardly to the front of the machine for use, and a guide wire extending from top to bottom of the cabinet along the front of the magazine passing through said towel tags and having a loop projecting through the front of the machine with its lower end passing down into the used towel receptacle, together with a receiving, tray beneath said loop, to receive the used towels when they are let fall by the users, and conduct them into the used towel receptacle.

In testimony whereof I hereunto atfix my signature. TIMMIE J. JONES. 

